P112 million used in 2009 elections-IEC

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Thursday March 25, 2010 00:00

In an audit published this year by the electoral body, the IEC said the expenditure costs covered preparations for the elections from the year 2005 to 2010.

In the financial year of 2005/2006 about P6 million was used for personal emoluments, P5 million for traveling and transport costs and P3 million for general expenses and supplies. The report indicates that for the years between 2008 and 2010 a total of about P48 million was gobbled up. 'The major activities concerning the 2009 General Elections were voter registration and the elections themselves. Both attracted payment of huge allowances to the officers involved.  This explains the large difference between the 2008/2009 financial year (possibly 2009/2010) and for the other years. The other big spenders were advertising and publicity and traveling to prepare for the elections,' partly reads the report.

The 2009 General Elections had 725, 817 registered voters, from which only 555,308 voted, representing a turnout of 76.5 percent of the total registered voters.

'The Commission received the first results around 9pm on the 16th October 2009. The results continued to trickle in until the final results arrived on 17th October 2009,' reads the report.